Polling places, times set for Tuesday

Voting for East Windsor Regional School District 2005-06 school budget and candidates will be held on April 19.

By: Marisa Maldonado
   HIGHTSTOWN — After weeks of public hearings and candidate debates, the East Windsor Regional School District 2005-06 school budget for the will face the voters who also will choose three school board members Tuesday.
   Approval of the $66.6 million budget is the only question on the ballot. It calls for a 26-cent tax rate increase for East Windsor residents, which would set the tax rate at $3.08 per $100 of assessed property value. The school tax rate for Hightstown residents would increase by 18 cents, to $3.19. The tax rate is based on a state-mandated equalization formula based on the value of taxable property in each municipality.
   A resident of Hightstown whose home is assessed at the average amount of $120,000 would pay $3,828 in school taxes, $216 more than last year. An East Windsor resident with a home assessed at the township average of $165,000 would pay $5,082, $429 more than last year.
   Hightstown voters will choose two of three school board candidates: incumbents Suzanne Fallon, 53, and Susan Lloyd, 42, both of South Main Street face challenger Randy Shuler, 39, of Franklin Street. Incumbent Alice Weisman, 47, of Dorchester Drive, is running unopposed for the sole East Windsor seat.
   Residents can vote between 4 and 9 p.m. at the following locations:
   • All Hightstown residents: Hightstown High School
   • East Windsor Districts 1, 2, 4 and 6: Melvin Kreps Middle School, Gym A
   • East Windsor District 3: Meadow Lakes Auditorium
   • East Windsor District 5 and 7: Melvin Kreps Middle School, Gym B
   • East Windsor Districts 8, 13 and 14: Melvin Kreps Middle School, Gym B rear
   • East Windsor Districts 9, 12, 15, 16: Perry Drew Elementary School, main entrance
   • East Windsor Districts 10 and 11: Ethel McKnight Elementary School, multipurpose room.